Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My    Hair
by LadySirius32158
Summary: When Ares sends Xena into yet another tizzy, Gabrielle suggests washing away her troubles, in a joint bath.  What harm could there be in that, right?


Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My . . . Hair

Xena closed her eyes and drew a deep cleansing breath, before beginning her internal mantra. The one that was calculated to keep her on an even keel, to prevent her from totally losing control of herself and either doing or saying something potentially stupid. And while Xena might be a mighty warrior, fierce in the saddle, and skillful with a sword, she was not stupid. Even if the source of her anger showed himself to be so at times, with his deliberate sweet aggravations of the warrior princess. But that was all part of his plan, wasn't it? The carrot and stick mentality which drove him to alternate between wooing her with soft words and intimate caresses and causing her to wish to bring him to his knees both physically and psychologically.

It was Ares, of course. Spoiled war-child of the Athenian pantheon. Purveyor of frenzied delight, and all-round miserable son of a bitch. Not worth it, she told herself, he's not worth it, girl, as she reminded herself to breathe. In with the good air, out with the bad - and along with the bad send thoughts of the well-muscled God of War.

A soft hand upon her shoulder blade almost sent her into a turning leap, but just before her muscles released the motion, she realized that it was Gabrielle's touch she felt, and she found herself yelling at her second-in-command in a gruff manner to hide her near mistake. "Gabrielle!" she growled throatily, "be careful, if you don't wish to receive my foot in your groin!"

Gabrielle knew the Warrior Princess too well to be offended at her words, and smiled at her, seeing through the faux anger. She knew the cause of her friend's frustration only too well. There were times when she wished to go head to head with the obnoxious Ares herself, to release her own pent up emotions and annoyances over his treatment of Xena. And, if she would ever admit it to herself, to stake her own claim upon the gorgeous woman who formed a large part of her night time reveries - awake and asleep. Words she'd never dared speak aloud, for fear of alienating the best and truest friend she had ever had. But mark the gods, she would have no trouble in fighting that baboon-faced god for her, for he was not good enough, not by a long shot. No man could ever be.

"Forgive me," Gabrielle replied, her hand slipping to Xena's arm, continuing its comforting stroking motion. "I won't bother to ask you how it went. Obviously not well."

"Yeah, you could say that," Xena rejoined in her typically flat manner, rolling her eyes, not at Gaby, but at the situation in general. She took another deep breath, counted to five quickly, before returning Gabrielle's smile. "Sorry, I know I shouldn't let the asshole get to me the way he does, he only feeds on that."

"You're right, he does," Gaby nodded, "and that man's ego is big enough without adding to it, right?"

"You got that right." Just to give herself an outlet for her overwhelming passions, Xena removed her chakra from her belt and let loose with it, setting it upon a calculated course which caromed between the oaks and willows which comprised the copse within which they stood, before returning to her hand once more.

"Hey, I tell you what," Gabrielle said, determined to ease her friend's bad mood, "I was just about to take a dip in the pond. And by dip, I mean bath. Want to soak away your bad humors?"

Xena had to admit there was a certain logic, as well as charm, in the suggestion. And the idea of immersing herself in the warm water of the spring sounded totally irresistible as well. "Yeah, Gabrielle, I think you have something there," she smiled, drawing her hand through her dark locks, wanting to wash the feel of Ares right out of them. The scent of him as well. And the sound of his lying honey laden words which were as razor sharp as the edge of the sword he carried.

Gabrielle wound a sympathetic arm about her friend's waist, as the warrior princess seemed distracted, guiding her steps through the trees to the pond just beyond them. Luckily for her she had grabbed an extra towel before deciding to bathe today; they were both slung over her shoulder, fluffy and soft, and would be a warm welcome to their bare bods once they had performed their ablutions. Was it the word naked that caused the flush in Gabrielle's cheeks? Silly thought. Not like they hadn't bathed together before. Not like she hadn't seen Xena naked before, she certainly had. Oh yes, she definitely had, and those were some of the images that peopled her dreams. Gabrielle shook such thoughts away as being unwarranted. This was simply a friendly plunge, a cleansing bath to rid her friend of this festering wound in her heart, to make her forget all about the outrageous Olympian who treated her so shamefully.

They divested themselves of their raiment quickly, setting it where it could be gathered again afterwards. Shaking her long hair loose, Xena entered the water in long majestic strides, unaware of the looks of longing being cast her way by the diminutive redhead. She began to swim, breast-stroking toward the opposite end, where the water was shallower, just right for bathing rather than swimming, her long legs scissoring behind her, giving delicious glimpses of her rounded buttocks. Glimpses which made Gabrielle's mouth fairly water.

Realizing she was staring, and grateful that Xena's back was turned - for many reasons - she jumped into the warm water and swam after her friend, emerging scant moments later in the shallower end of the pond, where Xena had just arrived before her. Gabrielle had left the sponge here from the last time, and she dunked it into the water, watching it expand as it soaked it up. "Tell you what," she said in her inimitably chipper fashion, "you wash my back, and I'll wash yours, how does that sound, Xena?"

"Sounds perfect," the brunette replied, turning her back toward Gabrielle without hesitation. Gaby had to swallow hard, just for a moment, forcing herself to remain calm. She could do this, she knew she could. She had been in far more dangerous predicaments in her life, compared to which washing Xena's back would be a walk in the park. She just had to focus, that's all, concentrate on what she was there to do, not what she wished she were doing. Yeah, that was it. She gritted her teeth, revved up her gumption, and began to stroke along that perfect tanned back in slow even strokes, praying that her trembling fingers would not give her away.

Almost immediately she decided this had been a bad idea, as her strokes threatened to become caresses, and as she had to force her lips, more than once, from fastening themselves upon that particularly attractive piece of flesh at the base of Xena's neck, the one she wanted to taste so badly with a desire that was almost palpable. There was a decided heat forming between her legs, despite her immersion in this water, and she fought back the desire to slide her hands around Xena, to let her fingers do the walking, over places she had often imagined the feel of. But this was not the time, even if might seem the ideal place, otherwise.

It was when she realized that her hand was actually beginning to make that foray into forbidden territory that she called a halt to its forward momentum, with Herculean effort. "My turn," she said, forcing her voice to a brightness it was far from feeling, turning her back to enable her friend to reach it. Xena took the sponge from Gabrielle's trembling hand, pushing the long red hair away from her back so that she could perform the same ministrations as had been given unto her. Gabrielle could feel her touch, even through the sponge, and her knees began to turn to jelly. Quickly she cast about in her mind for something to say, something that didn't involve the words touch me, love me or kiss me - words that were perilously close to escaping from her tortured lips, as she involuntarily leaned back into that heat-producing touch.

"I was thinking of entering the story-telling competition next month," she said shakily; it was the first thing she could think of. "I probably don't stand a chance, but I have some story ideas I want to try out. You know. New stories I've been thinking about. Just to see how they'd go with the crowd." She was babbling and she knew it, but it was getting harder and harder to ignore this heat that threatened to consume her, and if it didn't cease and desist she was going to turn around and simply press her lips against the dark-haired Amazon's behind her, let the chips fall where they may.

The only thing which stopped her from doing just that was the sudden sound of whistling which wafted through the mid-day air toward them – off-key, loud and incredibly non-melodic whistling, which was rapidly approaching. There was only one person who whistled so horribly, in Gabrielle's experience. "Joxer!" she half-released a sigh of relief, even as she used her body to form a shield against the sight of Xena's naked form. Joxer himself strode from between the trees mere moments later, his horrible rendition of some popular ditty halted by the sight before him - the two naked women standing together within the spring. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes seemed to grow to ten times their normal size.

"Joxer, this isn't a good time," Xena said, pressing up against Gabrielle, as her own arms instinctively wound about her friend, covering her chest as well as she could from Joxer's view. "Go back and wait for us, we won't be but a moment."

"But . . but . . . " the man stammered inefficiently, "he said. . . he told me . . . I only . . . " But he seemed unable to complete an entire thought or sentence, his mouth flopping open like a fish out of water. "Can I jump in?" he finished hopefully, but the next moment, Xena had managed to reach for her chakra and thrown it in a warning loop which slalomed about his head, perilously close for comfort, before returning to her hand.

"He? Who he?" she asked suspiciously, her eyes darting about them, up over the rocks that formed the opposite side of the spring, to the trees from which Joxer had emerged. And as if in reply to her question, a booming laugh was heard; rich, deep and sensuous, it caressed the very air about them, low and rumbling, and disturbingly familiar. Xena narrowed her eyes, as her agile mind leapt to all the right conclusions. So, playing peeping Tom was he? Thought he was so clever did he, spying upon she and Gabrielle in the innocence of their bath? Let him get the full monte then, and be damned to him. In for a drachma, in for an eyeful. . .

Xena spun Gabrielle about, not pausing to give herself or the other woman time to think, and there, before Joxer - and that despicable Ares - she laid a liplock on her. Long, hard and glorious. Let him think what he wanted, she thought to herself, to hades with him, to hades with all men.

Gabrielle, for her part, made no objection, nor questioned Xena's motives, although she suspected they were not what she might want them to be, but she decided to live in the moment - this very moment - and simply enjoy the kiss while it lasted.

They did not come up for air for a very long time.


End file.
